Codeless specification of software as a service integrations

ABSTRACT

A computational instance may include, in database tables, representations of computing services provided by remote networks. One or more processors disposed in the computational instance may cause a computing-service-neutral cloud integration application to perform operations including: obtaining a specification related to a remote network, where the specification defines: (i) an integration point for the remote network, (ii) a pagination type associated with the integration point, and (iii) mappings between descriptions of the computing services provided by the remote network and fields of the database tables. The operations may further include requesting and receiving, via the integration point, first descriptions of the computing services; determining, from the pagination type and the integration point, a second integration point for the remote network; requesting and receiving, via the second integration point, second descriptions; and storing, in the database tables, the first descriptions and the second descriptions in accordance with the mappings.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/575,052, filed Sep. 18, 2019, and entitled, “CODELESS SPECIFICATIONOF SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE INTEGRATIONS,” which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Cloud computing providers can make computing services (e.g., databases,virtual machines, software applications, and/or other services) remotelyavailable to users statically or on demand. Typically, these computingservices can be accessed via an integration point offered by the cloudcomputing providers. Interaction between users and the integration pointmay occur by way of the Internet.

An example user can be an enterprise. The enterprise may use computingservices to support operations such as file sharing, workflowmanagement, database planning, and so on. By using the computingservices of cloud computing providers, the enterprise can avoid orreduce costs associated with developing and/or maintaining the computingservices. Further, as needs of the enterprise change, the enterprise canutilize new computing services or different computing services offeredby cloud computing providers to support additional operations.

SUMMARY

A managed network may use various computing services to support itsoperations. Sometimes, these computing services are offered by cloudcomputing providers in the form a “Software as a Service” (otherwiseknown as “SaaS”). Under the SaaS paradigm, cloud computing providerssupply the hardware/software necessary to execute computing services andthen expose an integration point, such an Application ProgrammingInterface (API) endpoint, through which the managed network can remotelyaccess the computing services.

A managed network may use hundreds, if not thousands of computingservices offered by cloud computing providers. Consequently, it may beof interest for the managed network to monitor the consumption of thesecomputing services. A remote network management platform may beparticularly suited this task because it may already be configured togather information about computing services operating within the managednetwork. To acquire cloud computing service consumption information, theremote network management platform may request, via an integration pointprovided by the cloud computing provider, consumption information for aparticular computing service. Upon receiving a response, the remotenetwork management platform may store the consumption information in adatabase. This information may then be used as the basis of informationtechnology service and operations management, software asset management,and/or a variety of other network services and operations.

Yet, configuring the remote network management platform to interact witha new computing service may be challenging. Since computing servicesoften have distinct configuration details, adding support for a newcomputing service can involve a team of application developers creatingcustom software that incorporates these distinct configuration detailsinto the remote network management platform. This may take weeks or evenmonths, as the development process may involve rigorous integrationtesting. And if the remote network management platform is to interactwith several new computing services, the process can be unduly timeconsuming.

The present disclosure provides an improvement to a remote networkmanagement platform that can address these and other issues. Inparticular, a remote network management platform may include acomputing-service-neutral (CSN) cloud integration application thatallows remote network management platform to easily integrate withcomputing services offered by cloud computing providers. Duringexecution, the CSN cloud integration application can be populated withdata from a specification provided by the managed network or anotherservice. Such data can include distinct configuration details for one ormore computing services. Advantageously, if the managed network were tointegrate a new computing service, no additional software updates to theremote network management platform may be necessary. Rather, the managednetwork may simply update the specification, for example via a graphicaluser interface (GUI), and the CSN cloud integration application can berestructured accordingly. Using this framework, support for integratingnew computing services can be rapidly added to a remote networkmanagement platform, allowing an enterprise to quickly monitor theoperations provided by these new computing services. Other advantagesare also possible.

Accordingly, a first example embodiment may involve a computationalinstance dedicated to a managed network. The computational instance mayinclude persistent storage, the persistent storage containing, indatabase tables, representations of computing services provided byremote networks. The computational instance may further include one ormore processors that are configured to cause a computing-service-neutralcloud integration application to perform operations. The operations mayinvolve obtaining a specification related to a remote network, where thespecification defines: (i) an integration point for the remote network,(ii) a pagination type associated with responses provided by theintegration point, and (iii) mappings between descriptions of thecomputing services provided by the remote network that appear in theresponses and fields of the database tables. The operations may furtherinvolve requesting and receiving, via the integration point, firstdescriptions of the computing services provided by the remote network.The operations may further involve determining, from the pagination typeand the integration point, a second integration point for the remotenetwork. The operations may further involve requesting and receiving,via the second integration point, second descriptions of the computingservices provided by the remote network. The operations may furtherinvolve storing, in the fields of the database tables, the firstdescriptions and the second descriptions in accordance with themappings.

In a second example embodiment, an article of manufacture may include anon-transitory computer-readable medium, having stored thereon programinstructions that, upon execution by a computing system, cause thecomputing system to perform operations in accordance with the firstexample embodiment.

In a third example embodiment, a computing system may include at leastone processor, as well as memory and program instructions. The programinstructions may be stored in the memory, and upon execution by the atleast one processor, cause the computing system to perform operations inaccordance with the first example embodiment.

In a fourth example embodiment, a system may include various means forcarrying out each of the operations of the first example embodiment.

These, as well as other embodiments, aspects, advantages, andalternatives, will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artby reading the following detailed description, with reference whereappropriate to the accompanying drawings. Further, this summary andother descriptions and figures provided herein are intended toillustrate embodiments by way of example only and, as such, thatnumerous variations are possible. For instance, structural elements andprocess steps can be rearranged, combined, distributed, eliminated, orotherwise changed, while remaining within the scope of the embodimentsas claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic drawing of a computing device, inaccordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic drawing of a server device cluster, inaccordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts a remote network management architecture, in accordancewith example embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts a communication environment involving a remote networkmanagement architecture, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 5A depicts another communication environment involving a remotenetwork management architecture, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 5B is a flow chart, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a network architecture, in accordance with exampleembodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts a uniform resource locator (URL), in accordance withexample embodiments.

FIG. 8 depicts a graph, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 9 depicts a message flow, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIGS. 10A-10D depict web pages, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart, in accordance with example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example methods, devices, and systems are described herein. It should beunderstood that the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein tomean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodimentor feature described herein as being an “example” or “exemplary” is notnecessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otherembodiments or features unless stated as such. Thus, other embodimentscan be utilized and other changes can be made without departing from thescope of the subject matter presented herein.

Accordingly, the example embodiments described herein are not meant tobe limiting. It will be readily understood that the aspects of thepresent disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated inthe figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, anddesigned in a wide variety of different configurations. For example, theseparation of features into “client” and “server” components may occurin a number of ways.

Further, unless context suggests otherwise, the features illustrated ineach of the figures may be used in combination with one another. Thus,the figures should be generally viewed as component aspects of one ormore overall embodiments, with the understanding that not allillustrated features are necessary for each embodiment.

Additionally, any enumeration of elements, blocks, or steps in thisspecification or the claims is for purposes of clarity. Thus, suchenumeration should not be interpreted to require or imply that theseelements, blocks, or steps adhere to a particular arrangement or arecarried out in a particular order.

I. INTRODUCTION

A large enterprise is a complex entity with many interrelatedoperations. Some of these are found across the enterprise, such as humanresources (HR), supply chain, information technology (IT), and finance.However, each enterprise also has its own unique operations that provideessential capabilities and/or create competitive advantages.

To support widely-implemented operations, enterprises typically useoff-the-shelf software applications, such as customer relationshipmanagement (CRM) and human capital management (HCM) packages. However,they may also need custom software applications to meet their own uniquerequirements. A large enterprise often has dozens or hundreds of thesecustom software applications. Nonetheless, the advantages provided bythe embodiments herein are not limited to large enterprises and may beapplicable to an enterprise, or any other type of organization, of anysize.

Many such software applications are developed by individual departmentswithin the enterprise. These range from simple spreadsheets tocustom-built software tools and databases. But the proliferation ofsiloed custom software applications has numerous disadvantages. Itnegatively impacts an enterprise's ability to run and grow itsoperations, innovate, and meet regulatory requirements. The enterprisemay find it difficult to integrate, streamline, and enhance itsoperations due to lack of a single system that unifies its subsystemsand data.

To efficiently create custom applications, enterprises would benefitfrom a remotely-hosted application platform that eliminates unnecessarydevelopment complexity. The goal of such a platform would be to reducetime-consuming, repetitive application development tasks so thatsoftware engineers and individuals in other roles can focus ondeveloping unique, high-value features.

In order to achieve this goal, the concept of Application Platform as aService (aPaaS) is introduced, to intelligently automate workflowsthroughout the enterprise. An aPaaS system is hosted remotely from theenterprise, but may access data, applications, and services within theenterprise by way of secure connections. Such an aPaaS system may have anumber of advantageous capabilities and characteristics. Theseadvantages and characteristics may be able to improve the enterprise'soperations and workflows for IT, HR, CRM, customer service, applicationdevelopment, and security.

The aPaaS system may support development and execution ofmodel-view-controller (MVC) applications. MVC applications divide theirfunctionality into three interconnected parts (model, view, andcontroller) in order to isolate representations of information from themanner in which the information is presented to the user, therebyallowing for efficient code reuse and parallel development. Theseapplications may be web-based, and offer create, read, update, delete(CRUD) capabilities. This allows new applications to be built on acommon application infrastructure.

The aPaaS system may support standardized application components, suchas a standardized set of widgets for graphical user interface (GUI)development. In this way, applications built using the aPaaS system havea common look and feel. Other software components and modules may bestandardized as well. In some cases, this look and feel can be brandedor skinned with an enterprise's custom logos and/or color schemes.

The aPaaS system may support the ability to configure the behavior ofapplications using metadata. This allows application behaviors to berapidly adapted to meet specific needs. Such an approach reducesdevelopment time and increases flexibility. Further, the aPaaS systemmay support GUI tools that facilitate metadata creation and management,thus reducing errors in the metadata.

The aPaaS system may support clearly-defined interfaces betweenapplications, so that software developers can avoid unwantedinter-application dependencies. Thus, the aPaaS system may implement aservice layer in which persistent state information and other data arestored.

The aPaaS system may support a rich set of integration features so thatthe applications thereon can interact with legacy applications andthird-party applications. For instance, the aPaaS system may support acustom employee-onboarding system that integrates with legacy HR, IT,and accounting systems.

The aPaaS system may support enterprise-grade security. Furthermore,since the aPaaS system may be remotely hosted, it should also utilizesecurity procedures when it interacts with systems in the enterprise orthird-party networks and services hosted outside of the enterprise. Forexample, the aPaaS system may be configured to share data amongst theenterprise and other parties to detect and identify common securitythreats.

Other features, functionality, and advantages of an aPaaS system mayexist. This description is for purpose of example and is not intended tobe limiting.

As an example of the aPaaS development process, a software developer maybe tasked to create a new application using the aPaaS system. First, thedeveloper may define the data model, which specifies the types of datathat the application uses and the relationships therebetween. Then, viaa GUI of the aPaaS system, the developer enters (e.g., uploads) the datamodel. The aPaaS system automatically creates all of the correspondingdatabase tables, fields, and relationships, which can then be accessedvia an object-oriented services layer.

In addition, the aPaaS system can also build a fully-functional MVCapplication with client-side interfaces and server-side CRUD logic. Thisgenerated application may serve as the basis of further development forthe user. Advantageously, the developer does not have to spend a largeamount of time on basic application functionality. Further, since theapplication may be web-based, it can be accessed from anyInternet-enabled client device. Alternatively or additionally, a localcopy of the application may be able to be accessed, for instance, whenInternet service is not available.

The aPaaS system may also support a rich set of pre-definedfunctionality that can be added to applications. These features includesupport for searching, email, templating, workflow design, reporting,analytics, social media, scripting, mobile-friendly output, andcustomized GUIs.

Such an aPaaS system may represent a GUI in various ways. For example, aserver device of the aPaaS system may generate a representation of a GUIusing a combination of HTML, and JAVASCRIPT®. The JAVASCRIPT® mayinclude client-side executable code, server-side executable code, orboth. The server device may transmit or otherwise provide thisrepresentation to a client device for the client device to display on ascreen according to its locally-defined look and feel. Alternatively, arepresentation of a GUI may take other forms, such as an intermediateform (e.g., JAVA® byte-code) that a client device can use to directlygenerate graphical output therefrom. Other possibilities exist.

Further, user interaction with GUI elements, such as buttons, menus,tabs, sliders, checkboxes, toggles, etc. may be referred to as“selection”, “activation”, or “actuation” thereof. These terms may beused regardless of whether the GUI elements are interacted with by wayof keyboard, pointing device, touchscreen, or another mechanism.

An aPaaS architecture is particularly powerful when integrated with anenterprise's network and used to manage such a network. The followingembodiments describe architectural and functional aspects of exampleaPaaS systems, as well as the features and advantages thereof.

II. Example Computing Devices and Cloud-Based Computing Environments

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram exemplifying a computing device100, illustrating some of the components that could be included in acomputing device arranged to operate in accordance with the embodimentsherein. Computing device 100 could be a client device (e.g., a deviceactively operated by a user), a server device (e.g., a device thatprovides computational services to client devices), or some other typeof computational platform. Some server devices may operate as clientdevices from time to time in order to perform particular operations, andsome client devices may incorporate server features.

In this example, computing device 100 includes processor 102, memory104, network interface 106, and input/output unit 108, all of which maybe coupled by system bus 110 or a similar mechanism. In someembodiments, computing device 100 may include other components and/orperipheral devices (e.g., detachable storage, printers, and so on).

Processor 102 may be one or more of any type of computer processingelement, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a co-processor (e.g.,a mathematics, graphics, or encryption co-processor), a digital signalprocessor (DSP), a network processor, and/or a form of integratedcircuit or controller that performs processor operations. In some cases,processor 102 may be one or more single-core processors. In other cases,processor 102 may be one or more multi-core processors with multipleindependent processing units. Processor 102 may also include registermemory for temporarily storing instructions being executed and relateddata, as well as cache memory for temporarily storing recently-usedinstructions and data.

Memory 104 may be any form of computer-usable memory, including but notlimited to random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), andnon-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory, hard disk drives, solid statedrives, compact discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs), and/or tapestorage). Thus, memory 104 represents both main memory units, as well aslong-term storage. Other types of memory may include biological memory.

Memory 104 may store program instructions and/or data on which programinstructions may operate. By way of example, memory 104 may store theseprogram instructions on a non-transitory, computer-readable medium, suchthat the instructions are executable by processor 102 to carry out anyof the methods, processes, or operations disclosed in this specificationor the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1 , memory 104 may include firmware 104A, kernel 104B,and/or applications 104C. Firmware 104A may be program code used to bootor otherwise initiate some or all of computing device 100. Kernel 104Bmay be an operating system, including modules for memory management,scheduling and management of processes, input/output, and communication.Kernel 104B may also include device drivers that allow the operatingsystem to communicate with the hardware modules (e.g., memory units,networking interfaces, ports, and buses) of computing device 100.Applications 104C may be one or more user-space software programs, suchas web browsers or email clients, as well as any software libraries usedby these programs. Memory 104 may also store data used by these andother programs and applications.

Network interface 106 may take the form of one or more wirelineinterfaces, such as Ethernet (e.g., Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, andso on). Network interface 106 may also support communication over one ormore non-Ethernet media, such as coaxial cables or power lines, or overwide-area media, such as Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) ordigital subscriber line (DSL) technologies. Network interface 106 mayadditionally take the form of one or more wireless interfaces, such asIEEE 802.11 (Wifi), BLUETOOTH®, global positioning system (GPS), or awide-area wireless interface. However, other forms of physical layerinterfaces and other types of standard or proprietary communicationprotocols may be used over network interface 106. Furthermore, networkinterface 106 may comprise multiple physical interfaces. For instance,some embodiments of computing device 100 may include Ethernet,BLUETOOTH®, and Wifi interfaces.

Input/output unit 108 may facilitate user and peripheral deviceinteraction with computing device 100. Input/output unit 108 may includeone or more types of input devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, and so on. Similarly, input/output unit 108 may include one ormore types of output devices, such as a screen, monitor, printer, and/orone or more light emitting diodes (LEDs). Additionally or alternatively,computing device 100 may communicate with other devices using auniversal serial bus (USB) or high-definition multimedia interface(HDMI) port interface, for example.

In some embodiments, one or more computing devices like computing device100 may be deployed to support an aPaaS architecture. The exact physicallocation, connectivity, and configuration of these computing devices maybe unknown and/or unimportant to client devices. Accordingly, thecomputing devices may be referred to as “cloud-based” devices that maybe housed at various remote data center locations.

FIG. 2 depicts a cloud-based server cluster 200 in accordance withexample embodiments. In FIG. 2 , operations of a computing device (e.g.,computing device 100) may be distributed between server devices 202,data storage 204, and routers 206, all of which may be connected bylocal cluster network 208. The number of server devices 202, datastorages 204, and routers 206 in server cluster 200 may depend on thecomputing task(s) and/or applications assigned to server cluster 200.

For example, server devices 202 can be configured to perform variouscomputing tasks of computing device 100. Thus, computing tasks can bedistributed among one or more of server devices 202. To the extent thatthese computing tasks can be performed in parallel, such a distributionof tasks may reduce the total time to complete these tasks and return aresult. For purposes of simplicity, both server cluster 200 andindividual server devices 202 may be referred to as a “server device.”This nomenclature should be understood to imply that one or moredistinct server devices, data storage devices, and cluster routers maybe involved in server device operations.

Data storage 204 may be data storage arrays that include drive arraycontrollers configured to manage read and write access to groups of harddisk drives and/or solid state drives. The drive array controllers,alone or in conjunction with server devices 202, may also be configuredto manage backup or redundant copies of the data stored in data storage204 to protect against drive failures or other types of failures thatprevent one or more of server devices 202 from accessing units of datastorage 204. Other types of memory aside from drives may be used.

Routers 206 may include networking equipment configured to provideinternal and external communications for server cluster 200. Forexample, routers 206 may include one or more packet-switching and/orrouting devices (including switches and/or gateways) configured toprovide (i) network communications between server devices 202 and datastorage 204 via local cluster network 208, and/or (ii) networkcommunications between server cluster 200 and other devices viacommunication link 210 to network 212.

Additionally, the configuration of routers 206 can be based at least inpart on the data communication requirements of server devices 202 anddata storage 204, the latency and throughput of the local clusternetwork 208, the latency, throughput, and cost of communication link210, and/or other factors that may contribute to the cost, speed,fault-tolerance, resiliency, efficiency, and/or other design goals ofthe system architecture.

As a possible example, data storage 204 may include any form ofdatabase, such as a structured query language (SQL) database. Varioustypes of data structures may store the information in such a database,including but not limited to tables, arrays, lists, trees, and tuples.Furthermore, any databases in data storage 204 may be monolithic ordistributed across multiple physical devices.

Server devices 202 may be configured to transmit data to and receivedata from data storage 204. This transmission and retrieval may take theform of SQL queries or other types of database queries, and the outputof such queries, respectively. Additional text, images, video, and/oraudio may be included as well. Furthermore, server devices 202 mayorganize the received data into web page or web applicationrepresentations. Such a representation may take the form of a markuplanguage, such as the hypertext markup language (HTML), the extensiblemarkup language (XML), or some other standardized or proprietary format.Moreover, server devices 202 may have the capability of executingvarious types of computerized scripting languages, such as but notlimited to Perl, Python, PHP Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP), Active ServerPages (ASP), JAVASCRIPT®, and so on. Computer program code written inthese languages may facilitate the providing of web pages to clientdevices, as well as client device interaction with the web pages.Alternatively or additionally, JAVA® may be used to facilitategeneration of web pages and/or to provide web application functionality.

III. Example Remote Network Management Architecture

FIG. 3 depicts a remote network management architecture, in accordancewith example embodiments. This architecture includes three maincomponents—managed network 300, remote network management platform 320,and public cloud networks 340—all connected by way of Internet 350.

A. Managed Networks

Managed network 300 may be, for example, an enterprise network used byan entity for computing and communications tasks, as well as storage ofdata. Thus, managed network 300 may include client devices 302, serverdevices 304, routers 306, virtual machines 308, firewall 310, and/orproxy servers 312. Client devices 302 may be embodied by computingdevice 100, server devices 304 may be embodied by computing device 100or server cluster 200, and routers 306 may be any type of router,switch, or gateway.

Virtual machines 308 may be embodied by one or more of computing device100 or server cluster 200. In general, a virtual machine is an emulationof a computing system, and mimics the functionality (e.g., processor,memory, and communication resources) of a physical computer. Onephysical computing system, such as server cluster 200, may support up tothousands of individual virtual machines. In some embodiments, virtualmachines 308 may be managed by a centralized server device orapplication that facilitates allocation of physical computing resourcesto individual virtual machines, as well as performance and errorreporting. Enterprises often employ virtual machines in order toallocate computing resources in an efficient, as needed fashion.Providers of virtualized computing systems include VMWARE® andMICROSOFT®.

Firewall 310 may be one or more specialized routers or server devicesthat protect managed network 300 from unauthorized attempts to accessthe devices, applications, and services therein, while allowingauthorized communication that is initiated from managed network 300.Firewall 310 may also provide intrusion detection, web filtering, virusscanning, application-layer gateways, and other applications orservices. In some embodiments not shown in FIG. 3 , managed network 300may include one or more virtual private network (VPN) gateways withwhich it communicates with remote network management platform 320 (seebelow).

Managed network 300 may also include one or more proxy servers 312. Anembodiment of proxy servers 312 may be a server application thatfacilitates communication and movement of data between managed network300, remote network management platform 320, and public cloud networks340. In particular, proxy servers 312 may be able to establish andmaintain secure communication sessions with one or more computationalinstances of remote network management platform 320. By way of such asession, remote network management platform 320 may be able to discoverand manage aspects of the architecture and configuration of managednetwork 300 and its components. Possibly with the assistance of proxyservers 312, remote network management platform 320 may also be able todiscover and manage aspects of public cloud networks 340 that are usedby managed network 300.

Firewalls, such as firewall 310, typically deny all communicationsessions that are incoming by way of Internet 350, unless such a sessionwas ultimately initiated from behind the firewall (i.e., from a deviceon managed network 300) or the firewall has been explicitly configuredto support the session. By placing proxy servers 312 behind firewall 310(e.g., within managed network 300 and protected by firewall 310), proxyservers 312 may be able to initiate these communication sessions throughfirewall 310. Thus, firewall 310 might not have to be specificallyconfigured to support incoming sessions from remote network managementplatform 320, thereby avoiding potential security risks to managednetwork 300.

In some cases, managed network 300 may consist of a few devices and asmall number of networks. In other deployments, managed network 300 mayspan multiple physical locations and include hundreds of networks andhundreds of thousands of devices. Thus, the architecture depicted inFIG. 3 is capable of scaling up or down by orders of magnitude.

Furthermore, depending on the size, architecture, and connectivity ofmanaged network 300, a varying number of proxy servers 312 may bedeployed therein. For example, each one of proxy servers 312 may beresponsible for communicating with remote network management platform320 regarding a portion of managed network 300. Alternatively oradditionally, sets of two or more proxy servers may be assigned to sucha portion of managed network 300 for purposes of load balancing,redundancy, and/or high availability.

B. Remote Network Management Platforms

Remote network management platform 320 is a hosted environment thatprovides aPaaS services to users, particularly to the operator ofmanaged network 300. These services may take the form of web-basedportals, for example, using the aforementioned web-based technologies.Thus, a user can securely access remote network management platform 320from, for example, client devices 302, or potentially from a clientdevice outside of managed network 300. By way of the web-based portals,users may design, test, and deploy applications, generate reports, viewanalytics, and perform other tasks.

As shown in FIG. 3 , remote network management platform 320 includesfour computational instances 322, 324, 326, and 328. Each of thesecomputational instances may represent one or more server nodes operatingdedicated copies of the aPaaS software and/or one or more databasenodes. The arrangement of server and database nodes on physical serverdevices and/or virtual machines can be flexible and may vary based onenterprise needs. In combination, these nodes may provide a set of webportals, services, and applications (e.g., a wholly-functioning aPaaSsystem) available to a particular enterprise. In some cases, a singleenterprise may use multiple computational instances.

For example, managed network 300 may be an enterprise customer of remotenetwork management platform 320, and may use computational instances322, 324, and 326. The reason for providing multiple computationalinstances to one customer is that the customer may wish to independentlydevelop, test, and deploy its applications and services. Thus,computational instance 322 may be dedicated to application developmentrelated to managed network 300, computational instance 324 may bededicated to testing these applications, and computational instance 326may be dedicated to the live operation of tested applications andservices. A computational instance may also be referred to as a hostedinstance, a remote instance, a customer instance, or by some otherdesignation. Any application deployed onto a computational instance maybe a scoped application, in that its access to databases within thecomputational instance can be restricted to certain elements therein(e.g., one or more particular database tables or particular rows withinone or more database tables).

For purposes of clarity, the disclosure herein refers to the arrangementof application nodes, database nodes, aPaaS software executing thereon,and underlying hardware as a “computational instance.” Note that usersmay colloquially refer to the graphical user interfaces provided therebyas “instances.” But unless it is defined otherwise herein, a“computational instance” is a computing system disposed within remotenetwork management platform 320.

The multi-instance architecture of remote network management platform320 is in contrast to conventional multi-tenant architectures, overwhich multi-instance architectures exhibit several advantages. Inmulti-tenant architectures, data from different customers (e.g.,enterprises) are comingled in a single database. While these customers'data are separate from one another, the separation is enforced by thesoftware that operates the single database. As a consequence, a securitybreach in this system may impact all customers' data, creatingadditional risk, especially for entities subject to governmental,healthcare, and/or financial regulation. Furthermore, any databaseoperations that impact one customer will likely impact all customerssharing that database. Thus, if there is an outage due to hardware orsoftware errors, this outage affects all such customers. Likewise, ifthe database is to be upgraded to meet the needs of one customer, itwill be unavailable to all customers during the upgrade process. Often,such maintenance windows will be long, due to the size of the shareddatabase.

In contrast, the multi-instance architecture provides each customer withits own database in a dedicated computing instance. This preventscomingling of customer data, and allows each instance to beindependently managed. For example, when one customer's instanceexperiences an outage due to errors or an upgrade, other computationalinstances are not impacted. Maintenance down time is limited because thedatabase only contains one customer's data. Further, the simpler designof the multi-instance architecture allows redundant copies of eachcustomer database and instance to be deployed in a geographicallydiverse fashion. This facilitates high availability, where the liveversion of the customer's instance can be moved when faults are detectedor maintenance is being performed.

In some embodiments, remote network management platform 320 may includeone or more central instances, controlled by the entity that operatesthis platform. Like a computational instance, a central instance mayinclude some number of application and database nodes disposed upon somenumber of physical server devices or virtual machines. Such a centralinstance may serve as a repository for specific configurations ofcomputational instances as well as data that can be shared amongst atleast some of the computational instances. For instance, definitions ofcommon security threats that could occur on the computational instances,software packages that are commonly discovered on the computationalinstances, and/or an application store for applications that can bedeployed to the computational instances may reside in a centralinstance. Computational instances may communicate with central instancesby way of well-defined interfaces in order to obtain this data.

In order to support multiple computational instances in an efficientfashion, remote network management platform 320 may implement aplurality of these instances on a single hardware platform. For example,when the aPaaS system is implemented on a server cluster such as servercluster 200, it may operate virtual machines that dedicate varyingamounts of computational, storage, and communication resources toinstances. But full virtualization of server cluster 200 might not benecessary, and other mechanisms may be used to separate instances. Insome examples, each instance may have a dedicated account and one ormore dedicated databases on server cluster 200. Alternatively, acomputational instance such as computational instance 322 may spanmultiple physical devices.

In some cases, a single server cluster of remote network managementplatform 320 may support multiple independent enterprises. Furthermore,as described below, remote network management platform 320 may includemultiple server clusters deployed in geographically diverse data centersin order to facilitate load balancing, redundancy, and/or highavailability.

C. Public Cloud Networks

Public cloud networks 340 may be remote server devices (e.g., aplurality of server clusters such as server cluster 200) that can beused for outsourced computation, data storage, communication, andservice hosting operations. These servers may be virtualized (i.e., theservers may be virtual machines). Examples of public cloud networks 340may include AMAZON WEB SERVICES® and MICROSOFT® AZURE®. Like remotenetwork management platform 320, multiple server clusters supportingpublic cloud networks 340 may be deployed at geographically diverselocations for purposes of load balancing, redundancy, and/or highavailability.

Managed network 300 may use one or more of public cloud networks 340 todeploy applications and services to its clients and customers. Forinstance, if managed network 300 provides online music streamingservices, public cloud networks 340 may store the music files andprovide web interface and streaming capabilities. In this way, theenterprise of managed network 300 does not have to build and maintainits own servers for these operations.

Remote network management platform 320 may include modules thatintegrate with public cloud networks 340 to expose virtual machines andmanaged services therein to managed network 300. The modules may allowusers to request virtual resources, discover allocated resources, andprovide flexible reporting for public cloud networks 340. In order toestablish this functionality, a user from managed network 300 mightfirst establish an account with public cloud networks 340, and request aset of associated resources. Then, the user may enter the accountinformation into the appropriate modules of remote network managementplatform 320. These modules may then automatically discover themanageable resources in the account, and also provide reports related tousage, performance, and billing.

D. Communication Support and Other Operations

Internet 350 may represent a portion of the global Internet. However,Internet 350 may alternatively represent a different type of network,such as a private wide-area or local-area packet-switched network.

FIG. 4 further illustrates the communication environment between managednetwork 300 and computational instance 322, and introduces additionalfeatures and alternative embodiments. In FIG. 4 , computational instance322 is replicated across data centers 400A and 400B. These data centersmay be geographically distant from one another, perhaps in differentcities or different countries. Each data center includes supportequipment that facilitates communication with managed network 300, aswell as remote users.

In data center 400A, network traffic to and from external devices flowseither through VPN gateway 402A or firewall 404A. VPN gateway 402A maybe peered with VPN gateway 412 of managed network 300 by way of asecurity protocol such as Internet Protocol Security (IPSEC) orTransport Layer Security (TLS). Firewall 404A may be configured to allowaccess from authorized users, such as user 414 and remote user 416, andto deny access to unauthorized users. By way of firewall 404A, theseusers may access computational instance 322, and possibly othercomputational instances. Load balancer 406A may be used to distributetraffic amongst one or more physical or virtual server devices that hostcomputational instance 322. Load balancer 406A may simplify user accessby hiding the internal configuration of data center 400A, (e.g.,computational instance 322) from client devices. For instance, ifcomputational instance 322 includes multiple physical or virtualcomputing devices that share access to multiple databases, load balancer406A may distribute network traffic and processing tasks across thesecomputing devices and databases so that no one computing device ordatabase is significantly busier than the others. In some embodiments,computational instance 322 may include VPN gateway 402A, firewall 404A,and load balancer 406A.

Data center 400B may include its own versions of the components in datacenter 400A. Thus, VPN gateway 402B, firewall 404B, and load balancer406B may perform the same or similar operations as VPN gateway 402A,firewall 404A, and load balancer 406A, respectively. Further, by way ofreal-time or near-real-time database replication and/or otheroperations, computational instance 322 may exist simultaneously in datacenters 400A and 400B.

Data centers 400A and 400B as shown in FIG. 4 may facilitate redundancyand high availability. In the configuration of FIG. 4 , data center 400Ais active and data center 400B is passive. Thus, data center 400A isserving all traffic to and from managed network 300, while the versionof computational instance 322 in data center 400B is being updated innear-real-time. Other configurations, such as one in which both datacenters are active, may be supported.

Should data center 400A fail in some fashion or otherwise becomeunavailable to users, data center 400B can take over as the active datacenter. For example, domain name system (DNS) servers that associate adomain name of computational instance 322 with one or more InternetProtocol (IP) addresses of data center 400A may re-associate the domainname with one or more IP addresses of data center 400B. After thisre-association completes (which may take less than one second or severalseconds), users may access computational instance 322 by way of datacenter 400B.

FIG. 4 also illustrates a possible configuration of managed network 300.As noted above, proxy servers 312 and user 414 may access computationalinstance 322 through firewall 310. Proxy servers 312 may also accessconfiguration items 410. In FIG. 4 , configuration items 410 may referto any or all of client devices 302, server devices 304, routers 306,and virtual machines 308, any applications or services executingthereon, as well as relationships between devices, applications, andservices. Thus, the term “configuration items” may be shorthand for anyphysical or virtual device, or any application or service remotelydiscoverable or managed by computational instance 322, or relationshipsbetween discovered devices, applications, and services. Configurationitems may be represented in a configuration management database (CMDB)of computational instance 322.

As noted above, VPN gateway 412 may provide a dedicated VPN to VPNgateway 402A. Such a VPN may be helpful when there is a significantamount of traffic between managed network 300 and computational instance322, or security policies otherwise suggest or require use of a VPNbetween these sites. In some embodiments, any device in managed network300 and/or computational instance 322 that directly communicates via theVPN is assigned a public IP address. Other devices in managed network300 and/or computational instance 322 may be assigned private IPaddresses (e.g., IP addresses selected from the 10.0.0.0-10.255.255.255or 192.168.0.0-192.168.255.255 ranges, represented in shorthand assubnets 10.0.0.0/8 and 192.168.0.0/16, respectively).

IV. Example Device, Application, and Service Discovery

In order for remote network management platform 320 to administer thedevices, applications, and services of managed network 300, remotenetwork management platform 320 may first determine what devices arepresent in managed network 300, the configurations and operationalstatuses of these devices, and the applications and services provided bythe devices, as well as the relationships between discovered devices,applications, and services. As noted above, each device, application,service, and relationship may be referred to as a configuration item.The process of defining configuration items within managed network 300is referred to as discovery, and may be facilitated at least in part byproxy servers 312.

For purposes of the embodiments herein, an “application” may refer toone or more processes, threads, programs, client modules, servermodules, or any other software that executes on a device or group ofdevices. A “service” may refer to a high-level capability provided bymultiple applications executing on one or more devices working inconjunction with one another. For example, a high-level web service mayinvolve multiple web application server threads executing on one deviceand accessing information from a database application that executes onanother device.

FIG. 5A provides a logical depiction of how configuration items can bediscovered, as well as how information related to discoveredconfiguration items can be stored. For sake of simplicity, remotenetwork management platform 320, public cloud networks 340, and Internet350 are not shown.

In FIG. 5A, CMDB 500 and task list 502 are stored within computationalinstance 322. Computational instance 322 may transmit discovery commandsto proxy servers 312. In response, proxy servers 312 may transmit probesto various devices, applications, and services in managed network 300.These devices, applications, and services may transmit responses toproxy servers 312, and proxy servers 312 may then provide informationregarding discovered configuration items to CMDB 500 for storagetherein. Configuration items stored in CMDB 500 represent theenvironment of managed network 300.

Task list 502 represents a list of activities that proxy servers 312 areto perform on behalf of computational instance 322. As discovery takesplace, task list 502 is populated. Proxy servers 312 repeatedly querytask list 502, obtain the next task therein, and perform this task untiltask list 502 is empty or another stopping condition has been reached.

To facilitate discovery, proxy servers 312 may be configured withinformation regarding one or more subnets in managed network 300 thatare reachable by way of proxy servers 312. For instance, proxy servers312 may be given the IP address range 192.168.0/24 as a subnet. Then,computational instance 322 may store this information in CMDB 500 andplace tasks in task list 502 for discovery of devices at each of theseaddresses.

FIG. 5A also depicts devices, applications, and services in managednetwork 300 as configuration items 504, 506, 508, 510, and 512. As notedabove, these configuration items represent a set of physical and/orvirtual devices (e.g., client devices, server devices, routers, orvirtual machines), applications executing thereon (e.g., web servers,email servers, databases, or storage arrays), relationshipstherebetween, as well as services that involve multiple individualconfiguration items.

Placing the tasks in task list 502 may trigger or otherwise cause proxyservers 312 to begin discovery. Alternatively or additionally, discoverymay be manually triggered or automatically triggered based on triggeringevents (e.g., discovery may automatically begin once per day at aparticular time).

In general, discovery may proceed in four logical phases: scanning,classification, identification, and exploration. Each phase of discoveryinvolves various types of probe messages being transmitted by proxyservers 312 to one or more devices in managed network 300. The responsesto these probes may be received and processed by proxy servers 312, andrepresentations thereof may be transmitted to CMDB 500. Thus, each phasecan result in more configuration items being discovered and stored inCMDB 500.

In the scanning phase, proxy servers 312 may probe each IP address inthe specified range of IP addresses for open Transmission ControlProtocol (TCP) and/or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports to determinethe general type of device. The presence of such open ports at an IPaddress may indicate that a particular application is operating on thedevice that is assigned the IP address, which in turn may identify theoperating system used by the device. For example, if TCP port 135 isopen, then the device is likely executing a WINDOWS® operating system.Similarly, if TCP port 22 is open, then the device is likely executing aUNIX® operating system, such as LINUX®. If UDP port 161 is open, thenthe device may be able to be further identified through the SimpleNetwork Management Protocol (SNMP). Other possibilities exist. Once thepresence of a device at a particular IP address and its open ports havebeen discovered, these configuration items are saved in CMDB 500.

In the classification phase, proxy servers 312 may further probe eachdiscovered device to determine the version of its operating system. Theprobes used for a particular device are based on information gatheredabout the devices during the scanning phase. For example, if a device isfound with TCP port 22 open, a set of UNIX®-specific probes may be used.Likewise, if a device is found with TCP port 135 open, a set ofWINDOWS®-specific probes may be used. For either case, an appropriateset of tasks may be placed in task list 502 for proxy servers 312 tocarry out. These tasks may result in proxy servers 312 logging on, orotherwise accessing information from the particular device. Forinstance, if TCP port 22 is open, proxy servers 312 may be instructed toinitiate a Secure Shell (SSH) connection to the particular device andobtain information about the operating system thereon from particularlocations in the file system. Based on this information, the operatingsystem may be determined. As an example, a UNIX® device with TCP port 22open may be classified as AIX®, HPUX, LINUX®, MACOS®, or SOLARIS®. Thisclassification information may be stored as one or more configurationitems in CMDB 500.

In the identification phase, proxy servers 312 may determine specificdetails about a classified device. The probes used during this phase maybe based on information gathered about the particular devices during theclassification phase. For example, if a device was classified as LINUX®,a set of LINUX®-specific probes may be used. Likewise, if a device wasclassified as WINDOWS® 2012, as a set of WINDOWS®-2012-specific probesmay be used. As was the case for the classification phase, anappropriate set of tasks may be placed in task list 502 for proxyservers 312 to carry out. These tasks may result in proxy servers 312reading information from the particular device, such as basicinput/output system (BIOS) information, serial numbers, networkinterface information, media access control address(es) assigned tothese network interface(s), IP address(es) used by the particular deviceand so on. This identification information may be stored as one or moreconfiguration items in CMDB 500.

In the exploration phase, proxy servers 312 may determine furtherdetails about the operational state of a classified device. The probesused during this phase may be based on information gathered about theparticular devices during the classification phase and/or theidentification phase. Again, an appropriate set of tasks may be placedin task list 502 for proxy servers 312 to carry out. These tasks mayresult in proxy servers 312 reading additional information from theparticular device, such as processor information, memory information,lists of running processes (applications), and so on. Once more, thediscovered information may be stored as one or more configuration itemsin CMDB 500.

Running discovery on a network device, such as a router, may utilizeSNMP. Instead of or in addition to determining a list of runningprocesses or other application-related information, discovery maydetermine additional subnets known to the router and the operationalstate of the router's network interfaces (e.g., active, inactive, queuelength, number of packets dropped, etc.). The IP addresses of theadditional subnets may be candidates for further discovery procedures.Thus, discovery may progress iteratively or recursively.

Once discovery completes, a snapshot representation of each discovereddevice, application, and service is available in CMDB 500. For example,after discovery, operating system version, hardware configuration, andnetwork configuration details for client devices, server devices, androuters in managed network 300, as well as applications executingthereon, may be stored. This collected information may be presented to auser in various ways to allow the user to view the hardware compositionand operational status of devices, as well as the characteristics ofservices that span multiple devices and applications.

Furthermore, CMDB 500 may include entries regarding dependencies andrelationships between configuration items. More specifically, anapplication that is executing on a particular server device, as well asthe services that rely on this application, may be represented as suchin CMDB 500. For example, suppose that a database application isexecuting on a server device, and that this database application is usedby a new employee onboarding service as well as a payroll service. Thus,if the server device is taken out of operation for maintenance, it isclear that the employee onboarding service and payroll service will beimpacted. Likewise, the dependencies and relationships betweenconfiguration items may be able to represent the services impacted whena particular router fails.

In general, dependencies and relationships between configuration itemsmay be displayed on a web-based interface and represented in ahierarchical fashion. Thus, adding, changing, or removing suchdependencies and relationships may be accomplished by way of thisinterface.

Furthermore, users from managed network 300 may develop workflows thatallow certain coordinated activities to take place across multiplediscovered devices. For instance, an IT workflow might allow the user tochange the common administrator password to all discovered LINUX®devices in a single operation.

In order for discovery to take place in the manner described above,proxy servers 312, CMDB 500, and/or one or more credential stores may beconfigured with credentials for one or more of the devices to bediscovered. Credentials may include any type of information needed inorder to access the devices. These may include userid/password pairs,certificates, and so on. In some embodiments, these credentials may bestored in encrypted fields of CMDB 500. Proxy servers 312 may containthe decryption key for the credentials so that proxy servers 312 can usethese credentials to log on to or otherwise access devices beingdiscovered.

The discovery process is depicted as a flow chart in FIG. 5B. At block520, the task list in the computational instance is populated, forinstance, with a range of IP addresses. At block 522, the scanning phasetakes place. Thus, the proxy servers probe the IP addresses for devicesusing these IP addresses, and attempt to determine the operating systemsthat are executing on these devices. At block 524, the classificationphase takes place. The proxy servers attempt to determine the operatingsystem version of the discovered devices. At block 526, theidentification phase takes place. The proxy servers attempt to determinethe hardware and/or software configuration of the discovered devices. Atblock 528, the exploration phase takes place. The proxy servers attemptto determine the operational state and applications executing on thediscovered devices. At block 530, further editing of the configurationitems representing the discovered devices and applications may takeplace. This editing may be automated and/or manual in nature.

The blocks represented in FIG. 5B are examples. Discovery may be ahighly configurable procedure that can have more or fewer phases, andthe operations of each phase may vary. In some cases, one or more phasesmay be customized, or may otherwise deviate from the exemplarydescriptions above.

In this manner, a remote network management platform may discover andinventory the hardware, software, and services deployed on and providedby the managed network. As noted above, this data may be stored in aCMDB of the associated computational instance as configuration items.For example, individual hardware components (e.g., computing devices,virtual servers, databases, routers, etc.) may be represented ashardware configuration items, while the applications installed and/orexecuting thereon may be represented as software configuration items.

The relationship between a software configuration item installed orexecuting on a hardware configuration item may take various forms, suchas “is hosted on”, “runs on”, or “depends on”. Thus, a databaseapplication installed on a server device may have the relationship “ishosted on” with the server device to indicate that the databaseapplication is hosted on the server device. In some embodiments, theserver device may have a reciprocal relationship of “used by” with thedatabase application to indicate that the server device is used by thedatabase application. These relationships may be automatically foundusing the discovery procedures described above, though it is possible tomanually set relationships as well.

The relationship between a service and one or more softwareconfiguration items may also take various forms. As an example, a webservice may include a web server software configuration item and adatabase application software configuration item, each installed ondifferent hardware configuration items. The web service may have a“depends on” relationship with both of these software configurationitems, while the software configuration items have a “used by”reciprocal relationship with the web service. Services might not be ableto be fully determined by discovery procedures, and instead may rely onservice mapping (e.g., probing configuration files and/or carrying outnetwork traffic analysis to determine service level relationshipsbetween configuration items) and possibly some extent of manualconfiguration.

Regardless of how relationship information is obtained, it can bevaluable for the operation of a managed network. Notably, IT personnelcan quickly determine where certain software applications are deployed,and what configuration items make up a service. This allows for rapidpinpointing of root causes of service outages or degradation. Forexample, if two different services are suffering from slow responsetimes, the CMDB can be queried (perhaps among other activities) todetermine that the root cause is a database application that is used byboth services having high processor utilization. Thus, IT personnel canaddress the database application rather than waste time considering thehealth and performance of other configuration items that make up theservices.

V. Example Cloud Based Computing Services

As previously noted, cloud computing providers can make computingservices (e.g., databases, virtual machines, software applications,and/or other services) remotely available to users statically or ondemand. These computing services may include online data storageservices, document collaboration services, virtual machine services, webhosting services and more. Because the cloud computing provider suppliesthe hardware and software necessary for the computing service, a managednetwork may not have to devote time to provision or deploy its owninfrastructure to manage the computing service.

Cloud computing providers were discussed above in the context of publiccloud networks 340. Thus, examples of cloud computing providers (whichherein can be referred to as “remote networks”) may include AMAZON WEBSERVICES®, MICROSOFT® AZURE®, IBM CLOUD®, DROPBOX®, and SLACKTECHNOLOGIES®. Examples of computing services made available by thesecloud computing providers may include AMAZON AURORA® (a relationaldatabase management service), AZURE® Blob Storage (an unstructured datastorage service), and SLACK® (a collaborative messaging service). Othercloud computing providers and computing services may exist.

To keep up with increased demand for additional operations, cloudcomputing providers may regularly update their computing serviceofferings. That is, a cloud computing provider may develop new computingservices, adjust older computing services, and/or remove outdatedcomputing services. Such updates may occur every week, every few months,or every year. Additionally, new cloud computing providers may beestablished, each offering different sets of new computing services.

It may be advantageous for managed network 300 to be able to utilize thefunctionality provided by new computing services and/or new cloudcomputing providers. Further, it may be advantageous for managed network300 to monitor the consumption of these new computing services so as togain greater context into information technology service and operationsmanagement, software asset management, and/or a variety of other networkservices and operations. Moreover, an entity operating remote networkmanagement platform 320 may find it desirable to interact with these newcomputing services and/or new cloud computing providers on behalf ofmanaged network 300.

Yet, configuring remote network management platform 320 to interact witha new computing service may be challenging. Since computing servicesoften have distinct configuration details, adding support for a newcomputing service can involve a team of application developers creatingcustom software that incorporates these distinct configuration detailsinto remote network management platform 320. This may take weeks or evenmonths, as the development process may involve rigorous integrationtesting. And if remote network management platform 320 is to interactwith multiple new computing services, the process can be unduly timeconsuming.

To address this or other issues, the entity operating remote networkmanagement platform 320 may provide a cloud integration application toquickly integrate with new computing services and/or new cloud computingproviders. Advantageously, such a cloud integration application may beconfigurable via a specification provided by managed network 300,removing the need for custom software to be developed. Once configured,the cloud integration application may enable remote network managementplatform 320 to interact with/obtain consumption information for newcomputing services and/or cloud computing providers. Obtainedconsumption information may then be populated in CMDB 500 or anotherdatabase on remote network management platform 320 for later analysis.

By using the embodiments herein to interact with computing services, thecloud integration application may be considered“computing-service-neutral” (shortened to CSN herein). This is becausethe cloud integration application includes no specific configurationdetails on computing services and/or cloud computing providers, butrather obtains these details from managed network 300 or another entitywhen the cloud integration application is executed. Because of thischaracteristic, the cloud integration application may also be referredto as a “computing-service-neutral (CSN) cloud integration application.”

FIG. 6 depicts network architecture 600, in accordance with exampleembodiments. Network architecture 600 includes three main components,managed network 300, computational instance 322, and cloud computingproviders 610, all communicatively connected by way of a network, suchas Internet 350. As noted above, cloud computing providers 610 may takeon some or all of the properties discussed for public cloud network 340.

Computational instance 322 may be disposed within remote networkmanagement platform 320 and may be dedicated to managed network 300.Computational instance 322 may store discovered configuration items thatrepresent the environment of managed network 300 in CMDB 500.Additionally, computational instance 322 may includecomputing-service-neutral (CSN) cloud integration application 620, whichis used to integrate computational instance 322 with computing servicesoffered by cloud computing providers 610. Upon integration,computational instance 322 may obtain consumption information, includingusage, performance, and billing statistics, of computing servicesoffered by cloud computing providers 610.

Managed network 300 may be an enterprise network used by an entity forcomputing and communications tasks, as well as storage of data. Inexamples, managed network 300 may be a subscriber to one or more ofcomputing services offered by cloud computing providers 610. These mayinclude computational, data storage, communication, and/or hostingservices. For instance, if managed network 300 provides online musicstreaming services, a computing service that stores music files may beused. Managed network 300 may include one or more proxy servers 312.Possibly with the assistance of proxy servers 312, computationalinstance 322 may be able to integrate with computing services offered bycloud computing providers 610 that are used by managed network 300.

To make use of computing services offered by cloud computing providers610, managed network 300 may first establish an account with each ofcloud computing providers 610 for which one or more of computingservices are requested. After establishing the accounts, managed network300 may specify a subset of computing services with which it would likeCSN cloud integration application 620 to integrate. For instance,managed network 300 may be interested in integrating with only databaseservices associated with these accounts. To do this, managed network 300may provide CSN cloud integration application 620 with specification630.

Specification 630 may be a file, database table(s), or set ofassociations that includes account information details (e.g., passwords,usernames) and access details for computing services offered by cloudcomputing providers 610. For instance, given that a computing servicemay be accessed through an integration point, such as an API endpoint,specification 630 may contain a list of API endpoints for computingservices. In examples, these API endpoints may include representationalstate transfer (REST) APIs, Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) APIs,GraphQL APIs, or other types of APIs architectures. CSN cloudintegration application 620 may query these API endpoints overHyptertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), Hyptertext TransferProtocol (HTTP), or other application layer protocols. Additionally,specification 630 may include one or more mappings between descriptionsof the computing services received from cloud computing providers 610and configuration items in CMDB 500. These mappings may be used toensure that descriptions (e.g., consumption information) received fromcloud computing providers 610 are correctly stored in specific fieldsand tables in CMDB 500 or another database. In example embodiments, thedescriptions of computing services may be in XML, JavaScript ObjectNotation (JSON), or YAML Ain't Markup Language (YAML) format.

Once provided with specification 630, CSN cloud integration application620 may begin to interact with computing services offered by cloudcomputing providers 610. Advantageously, if managed network 300 were tostart using a new computing service offered by cloud computing providers610, no additional software updates to computational instance 322 or CSNcloud integration application 620 may be necessary. Rather, managednetwork 300 may simply update specification 630 (e.g., by way of a GUI)and CSN cloud integration application 620 may be configured accordingly.

Occasionally, cloud computing providers 610 split the descriptions of acomputing service across multiple integration points. That is, insteadof providing a description via a single integration point (e.g., asingle API endpoint), a cloud computing provider may divide thedescription across multiple integration points (e.g., multiple APIendpoints), each of which is known a “page”. This technique is common ifthe description of the computing service is unduly large. Thus, toobtain the entire description of the computing service, requests shouldbe made to each of the multiple integration points (e.g, each of thepages).

To integrate with a computing service that has its descriptions splitacross multiple integration points, specification 630 may include a“pagination type”. In particular, a user can provide specification 630with a first integration point and the pagination type. Upon receivingspecification 630, CSN cloud integration application 620 can use thepagination type to modify the first integration point into subsequentintegration points. Then, CSN cloud integration application 620 can makerequests to each of these subsequent integration points to obtain acomplete description of the computing service.

To conceptually illustrate the idea of pagination types, FIG. 7 depictsURL 700. As shown, URL 700 consists of scheme 702, host 704, path 706,and query string 708.

Scheme 702 identifies a protocol to be used to access a computingservice. In URL 700, scheme 702 shows that the HTTPS protocol is used,but other protocols, such as HTTP, are also possible.

Host 704 identifies the name of a server device that provides thecomputing service. In URL 700, host 704 shows that “foobar.com” is thehost, but other hosts are also possible.

Path 706 identifies a path on the server device to where the computingservice is located. In URL 700, path 706 shows that “/api/v2” is thepath, but other paths are also possible.

Query string 708 is an optional string that follows path 706. Querystring 708 provides a string of information that the computing resourcecan use for some purpose. For example, query string 708 may containparameters that the computing resource uses for a search. Query string708 is configured as a string of name/value pairs, each separated by anampersand. In URL 700, query string 708 shows that “id=123& token=3223”is the query string, but other query strings are also possible.

Now back to pagination types: given that integration points can take theform of URLs, a pagination type generally modifies either the path orquery string of an initial URL to obtain subsequent URLs.

Different pagination types may be used depending on how a particularcloud computing provider arranges its descriptions of computingservices. For example, cloud computing provider A_1 may dividedescriptions into 500 item pages, while cloud computing provider B_1 maydivide descriptions into 1000 item pages. To support a wide variety ofarrangements, CSN cloud integration application 620 may support nextendpoint pagination, next link pagination, offset pagination, andpage-based paginations, among other possibilities.

When using a next endpoint pagination type, a user from managed network300 provides specification 630 with a new path. To obtain subsequentintegration points, CSN cloud integration application 620 would modifythe path of an initial integration point with the new path. For example,if an initial integration point is “https://foobar.com/api/v2”, a secondintegration point may take the form of “https://foobar.com/api/v3.”

When using the next link pagination type, a user from managed network300 may provide specification 630 with a new query string. To obtainsubsequent integration points, CSN cloud integration application 620would modify the query string of an initial integration point with thenew query string. For example, if an initial integration point is“https://foobar.com/api/v2?link=1”, a second integration point may takethe form of “https://foobar.com/api/v2?link=2”.

In some embodiments, the new query string for the next link paginationtype may be determined based on descriptions provided via the initialintegration point. For example, upon CSN cloud integration application620 requesting descriptions from “https://foobar.com/api/v2?link=A24”, acorresponding response may appear as the following Javascript ObjectNotation (JSON) object:

{  “ID”: 1,  “nextLink”: “B53” }

In this scenario, CSN cloud integration application 620 may parse theresponse to obtain the value of the nextLink key (“B53” in this example)and may use this value to obtain a second integration point(“https://foobar.com/api/v2?link=B53”). Subsequently, the responseprovided by the second integration point may provide a value that can beused to obtain a third integration point, and so on.

When using the offset pagination type, a user from managed network 300may provide specification 630 with a size parameter and an offsetparameter. Generally speaking, the size parameter indicates the numberof items to be returned on a page, while the offset parameter refers toindex of a particular item. For example, suppose that“https://foobar.com/api/v2” contains 100 items. Then, the query“https://foobar.com/api/v2?offset=0&size=25” would return items 1-25,the query “https://foobar.com/api/v2?offset=25&size=25” would returnitems 25-50, and so on.

Consequently, CSN cloud integration application 620 may be configured tomodify the query string of an initial integration point with theoffset/size parameters path provided in specification 630. For example,if the initial integration point is“https://foobar.com/api/v2?offset={X}&size={Y}” a second integrationpoint may appear as “https://foobar.com/api/v2?offset={X+Y}&size={Y}”,where X and Y are integers (note that the brackets { } are used asplaceholders and are not intended as part of the URL).

When using the page-based pagination type, a user from managed network300 may provide specification 630 with a page parameter. Generallyspeaking, the page parameter indicates an index number of a page. Thismay be useful if a cloud computing provider divides a description of acomputing service across incrementally increasing pages. For example, acloud computing provider may divide a description of a computing serviceacross 10 incrementally increasing pages, the first page being“https://foobar.com/api/v2?page=1”, the second page being“https://foobar.com/api/v2?page=2, and so on.

Consequently, CSN cloud integration application 620 may be configured tomodify the query string of an initial integration point with the pageparameter path. For example, if the initial integration point is“https://foobar.com/api/v2?page={Y}” a second integration point mayappear as “https://foobar.com/api/v2?page={Y+1}”, where Y is an integer(note that the brackets { } are used as placeholders and are not part ofthe URL string).

Notably the example pagination types above are not intended to belimiting. Other pagination types may exist and may be supported by CSNcloud integration application 620.

Occasionally, managed network 300 may use descriptions received fromfirst integration point as input into one or more subsequent integrationpoints. As an example of this, suppose that a particular computingservice provided by cloud computing providers 610 is used by multipleusers from managed network 300. It may be of interest for CSN cloudintegration application 620 to obtain license subscription informationrelated to each of these users so as to gain greater context into theusage of the particular computing service (e.g., to ascertain if theparticular computing service is being under-utilized by users frommanaged network 300, to ascertain if the particular computing service isbeing over-utilized by users from managed network 300, etc.). Thus, CSNcloud integration application 620 may first obtain a list of all usersand then may use this list as input to obtain license subscriptioninformation related to each user.

Graph 800 is provided to illustrate this concept. Get users integrationpoint 810 is at the top of graph 800. This integration point allows CSNcloud integration application 620 to obtain a list of all users. Asdiscussed above, the list of all users may be divided into one or morepages, which are represented on graph 800 as user list 812, user list814 and user list 816. Put differently, user lists 812, 814, and 816 mayeach contain a sub-list of individual users from the list of all users.

To save on space complexity, CSN cloud integration application 620 mayoperate on graph 800 in accordance with a depth-first search (DFS). Thatis, CSN cloud integration application 620 may retrieve the user lists812 without concurrently retrieving user list 814 or user list 816.Then, CSN cloud integration application 620 may loop through user list812 to retrieve license subscription information for each user in userlist 812. This is represented on graph 800 by get all licenses 818 andget all licenses 820.

After the license subscription information for each user in user list812 is received, CSN cloud integration application 620 may retrieve userlist 814 and may loop through user list 814 to retrieve licensesubscription information for each user in user list 814. This isrepresented on graph 800 by get all licenses 822 and get all license824.

After the license subscription information for each user in user list814 is received, CSN cloud integration application 620 may retrieve userlist 816 and may loop through user list 816 to retrieve the licensesubscription information for each user in user list 816. CSN cloudintegration application 620 may continue to repeat this process untilthe license subscription information for all users is retrieved.

FIG. 9 depicts message flow 900, in accordance with example embodiments.In message flow 900, computational instance 322 receives a specificationfrom managed network 300 and then uses the specification to determineone or more integration points. By way of example, message flow 900 mayutilize computational instance 322, managed network 300, and cloudcomputing providers 610 during operation. However, additionalcomponents, steps, or blocks, may be added to message flow 900.

At step 902, a user from managed network 300 may provide specification630 to computational instance 322. Specification 630 may define: (i) oneor more integration points offered by cloud computing providers 610,(ii) a pagination type associated with responses provided by the one ormore integration points, and (iii) mappings between descriptions of thecomputing services provided by cloud computing providers 610 that appearin the responses and fields of the database tables in CMDB 500.Specification 630 may be transmitted from managed network 300 tocomputational instance 322 by way of a graphical interface.

At step 904, computational instance 322 invokes CSN cloud integrationapplication 620. Upon invocation, CSN cloud integration application 620may gather data from specification 630 to (i) authenticate with cloudcomputing providers 610 and (ii) determine a first integration pointoffered by cloud computing providers 610. As an example, a firstintegration point for a computing service provided by the cloudcomputing provider “FOOBAR” may take the form ofhttps://foobar.com/api/v2?link=1.”

At step 906, CSN cloud integration application 620 may request, usingthe first integration point determined in step 904, first descriptionsof the computing service provided by cloud computing providers 610. Insome cases, the request from computational instance 322 to cloudcomputing provider 610 may be facilitated via proxy servers 312 onmanaged network 300. The response received by CSN cloud integrationapplication 620 from cloud computing providers 610 may include firstdescriptions of computing resources available to or used by managednetwork 300. In example embodiments, the first descriptions may be inXML, JSON, or YAML format.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the steps of 904 and 906 may repeat for any numberof integration points. As described above in FIG. 7 , the subsequentintegration points may be determined by a pagination type provide inspecification 630. For example, at step 908, CSN cloud integrationapplication 620 determines integration point N. This integration pointmay take the form of https://foobar.com/api/v2?link=n”. At step 910, CSNcloud integration application 620 may request and receive Nthdescriptions of computing resources from cloud computing providers 610via integration point N.

At step 912, CSN cloud integration application 620 may organize thereceived descriptions from each of the N integration points and storethe descriptions as configuration items in CMDB 500 or another database.

VI. Example Configuration Interfaces

To enable message flow 900, remote network management platform 320 mayprompt a user from managed network 300 to enter the appropriate data forspecification 630. This may be accomplished by way of a web page orseries of web pages hosted by computational instance 322 and provided tothe user from managed network 300 upon request. Notably, the followingexamples of web pages are merely for purposes of illustration and notintended to be limiting. Other web pages including alternativearrangements of information may exist.

FIG. 10A illustrates web page 1000, in accordance with exampleembodiments. Web page 1000 facilitates the identification,configuration, and management of a particular computing service byallowing a user to specify configuration details related to theparticular computing service. Details configured via web page 1000 maybe included in specification 630.

Name field 1002 may allow users to assign a unique name to theparticular computing service. This unique name may then be used todifferentiate the particular computing service from other computingservices.

Base URL field 1004 allows users to specify a base URL for theparticular computing service. The base URL may include the scheme andhost (or just the host) for the particular computing service. Asdescribed above in FIG. 7 , CSN cloud integration application 620 mayuse different pagination types to modify this base URL and obtaindifferent integration points.

Authentication URL 1006 may allow users to specify an authentication URLfor the cloud computing provider the provides the particular computingservice. During execution, CSN cloud integration application 620 mayretrieve authentication information, package the authenticationinformation into an API request, and transmit the API request to theauthentication URL in order to authenticate with the particular cloudprovider.

Integration actions list 1008 may include a list of integration actionsthat CSN cloud integration application 620 can perform to receivedescriptions related to the particular computing service. As illustratedin FIG. 10A, integration actions list 1008 contains a “get lastactivity” action, which may operate to obtain the most recent activityfor the particular computing service. In examples, the most recentactivity may include details related to which users most recentlyaccessed the particular computing service.

Integration actions list 1008 also contains pull subscription action1010, which may operate to obtain subscription information from theparticular computing service. In examples, subscription information maycontain details related to the number of accounts that managed network300 has with the particular computing service, the number of licensesthat managed network 300 has with on the particular computing service,and so on.

A user may further configure each integration action from integrationactions list 1008. For example, if the user clicks on or otherwiseselects pull subscription action 1010, the user may be directed to aconfiguration page that enables the user to edit the configurationdetails for pull subscription action 1010.

FIG. 10B illustrates web page 1020, in accordance with exampleembodiments. Web page 1020 facilitates the configuration a particularintegration action by allowing a user to specify details related to theparticular integration action. In example embodiments, web page 1020 maybe provided to the user from managed network 300 upon clicking on orotherwise selecting an integration action from integration actions list1008. Details configured via web page 1020 may be included inspecification 630.

Integration name field 1022 may allow users to assign a unique name tothe particular integration action being configured via web page 1020.This unique name may be used to differentiate the particular integrationaction from other integration actions.

Integration point list 1024 includes a list of all integration pointsthat CSN cloud integration application 620 should query when executingthe particular integration action. Integration point list 1024 may allowusers to configure a logical order for when each integration point willbe queried. As described in FIG. 8 , this allows descriptions receivedfrom a first integration point to be input into one or more subsequentintegration points. For example, users integration point 1026 is shownas first in the order and license integration point 1028 is shown assecond in the order.

A user may further configure each integration point from integrationpoint list 1024. For example, if the user clicks on or otherwise selectsusers integration point 1026, the user may be directed to aconfiguration page that enables the user to edit the configurationdetails for users integration point 1026.

FIG. 10C illustrates web page 1030, in accordance with exampleembodiments. Web page 1030 facilitates the configuration a particularintegration point by allowing a user to specify details related to theparticular integration point. In example embodiments, web page 1030 maybe provided to the user from managed network 300 upon clicking on orotherwise selecting an integration point from integration point list1024. Details configured via web page 1030 may be included inspecification 630.

Name field 1032 may allow users to assign a unique name to theintegration point being configured via web page 1030. This unique namemay be used to differentiate the particular integration point from otherintegration points.

In some cases, descriptions of computing services received from cloudcomputing providers 610 may contain extraneous information that managednetwork 300 does not want to store. To acquire only relevant data,response path 1034 may be used. Response path 1034 may include aconcatenation of the nested objects and/or arrays that may locate aspecific element within the received descriptions. Using such paths canbe advantageous when parsing the descriptions, because not all elementsmay be of interest and paths can be used to define the elements that areof interest. For example, a description of a computing services mayappear in the following JSON format:

{  members: [  {   “key”: 1,   “names”: {    “User_name: “Jill”,   “ID”:123    }  },   {   “key”: 2,   “names”: {    “User_name: “John”,   “ID”:124    }   }  ] }

If “name” objects are relevant to the managed network 300, response path1034 may include a structured path to the name “objects”. This path mayappear as the following: “response.members[ ].names”. During operations,CSN cloud integration application 620 may utilize response path 1034 toextract values from descriptions and write them to a file and/or adatabase table.

Test mode flag 1036 may be a checkbox indicating whether the particularintegration point defined via web page 1030 is being used for a test.Being used for a test (e.g., test mode flag 1036 is checked) means thatCSN cloud integration application 630 displays descriptions receivedfrom cloud computing providers 610 for the user to view. In some cases,being used for a test means that the CSN cloud integration application620 does not store any descriptions received from cloud computingproviders 610 into CMDB 500. More on the test mode is described in thediscussion of FIG. 10D below.

Endpoint 1038 may allow users to specify the API endpoint/URL for theparticular integration point defined via web page 1030. Endpoint 1038may correspond to an initial/first integration point.

Pagination box 1040 allows users to configure a pagination type to beused for endpoint 1038. As shown in FIG. 10C, pagination box 1040includes pagination type dropdown 1042, which allows users to select oneout of multiple pagination types. Web page 1030 shows that the “offset”pagination type is currently selected. This results in “offset paramname”, “offset param value”, “size param name” and “size param value”fields being shown in pagination box 1040. The user may populate thesefield to configure the “offset” pagination type.

Response schema maps 1044 allow users to map descriptions of thecomputing services received from cloud computing providers 610 totables/fields in CMDB 500. For example, response schema maps 1044 showsthat a “user_name” field is mapped to a “name” field within a “profile”table of CMDB 500. Further, response schema maps 1044 shows that an“user_ID” field is mapped to a “ID” field within a “profile” table ofCMDB 500. Notably, other mappings are also possible.

FIG. 10D illustrates a web page 1050, in accordance with exampleembodiments. Web page 1050 generally contains the same content as webpage 1030, with the exception of test box 1052, which is shown in FIG.10D to be activated (perhaps via a user clicking or otherwise selectingthe “Test Mode” button). Thus, for the purposes of brevity, thedescriptions of items that overlap with web page 1030 are omitted fromweb page 1050.

In FIG. 10D, response field 1054 shows a sample response/description ofa computing resource that may be received from cloud computing providers610 upon querying endpoint 1038. In turn, mapped data field 1056 mayshow a mapping of the sample response. In particular, the mapping shownin mapped data field 1056 may correspond to path provided in responsepath 1034.

Advantageously, showing response field 1054/mapped data field 1056 mayassist users with properly mapping the response received from cloudcomputing providers 610 into field/tables in CMDB 500 (e.g., help userswith properly configuring response path 1034/response schema maps 1044).

VII. Example Operations

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment. The processillustrated by FIG. 11 may be carried out by a computing device, such ascomputing device 100, and/or a cluster of computing devices, such asserver cluster 200. However, the process can be carried out by othertypes of devices or device subsystems. For example, the process could becarried out by a portable computer, such as a laptop or a tablet device.

The embodiments of FIG. 11 may be simplified by the removal of any oneor more of the features shown therein. Further, these embodiments may becombined with features, aspects, and/or implementations of any of theprevious figures or otherwise described herein.

Block 1100 involves obtaining, by a computing-service-neutral cloudintegration application, a specification related to a remote network.The computing-service-neutral cloud integration application can beexecutable on one or more processors disposed within a computationalinstance. The computational instance may be dedicated to a managednetwork, and persistent storage disposed within the computationalinstance contains, in database tables, representations of computingservices provided by remote networks. The specification may define: (i)an integration point for the remote network, (ii) a pagination typeassociated with responses provided by the integration point, and (iii)mappings between descriptions of the computing services provided by theremote network that appear in the responses and fields of the databasetables.

Block 1110 involves requesting and receiving, by thecomputing-service-neutral cloud integration application and via theintegration point, first descriptions of the computing services providedby the remote network.

Block 1120 involves determining, by the computing-service-neutral cloudintegration application and from the pagination type and the integrationpoint, a second integration point for the remote network.

Block 1130 involves requesting and receiving, by thecomputing-service-neutral cloud integration application and via thesecond integration point, second descriptions of the computing servicesprovided by the remote network.

Block 1140 involves storing, by the computing-service-neutral cloudintegration application and in the fields of the database tables, thefirst descriptions and the second descriptions in accordance with themappings.

Some embodiments involve determining, by the computing-service-neutralcloud integration application and from the pagination type and thesecond integration point, a third integration point for the remotenetwork. The embodiments may further involve requesting and receiving,by the computing-service-neutral cloud integration application and viathe third integration point, third descriptions of the computingservices provided by the remote network. The embodiments may furtherinvolve storing, by the computing-service-neutral cloud integrationapplication and in the fields of the database tables, the thirddescriptions in accordance with the mappings.

Some embodiments involve obtaining a second specification related to asecond remote network, where the second specification defines: (i) athird integration point for the second remote network, (ii) a secondpagination type associated with second responses provided by the thirdintegration point, and (iii) second mappings between descriptions ofsecond computing services provided by the second remote network thatappear in the second responses and fields of the database tables. Theembodiments may further involve requesting and receiving, via the thirdintegration point, third descriptions of the computing services providedby the second remote network. The embodiments may further involvedetermining, from the pagination type and the third integration point, afourth integration point for the second remote network. The embodimentsmay further involve requesting and receiving, via the fourth integrationpoint, fourth descriptions of the computing services provided by thesecond remote network. The embodiments may further involve storing, inthe fields of the database tables, the third descriptions and the fourthdescriptions in accordance with the second mappings.

In some embodiments, the remote network is physically distinct from thecomputing system and the managed network, and the computing system andthe managed network access the remote network by way of a wide-areanetwork.

In some embodiments, the specification also defines an authenticationmechanism for the remote network, and requesting and receiving the firstdescriptions of the computing services provided by the remote networkcomprises requesting and receiving the first descriptions by way of theauthentication mechanism.

In some embodiments, the integration point comprises a URL, the URLincluding a host associated with the remote network and a path. In theseembodiments, the pagination type comprises a next endpoint paginationthat specifies a new path and the second integration point comprises asecond URL, the second URL including the host associated with the remotenetwork and the new path.

In some embodiments, the integration point comprises a URL, the URLincluding a host associated with the remote network, a path, and a querystring. In these embodiments the pagination type comprises a next linkpagination that specifies a new query string and the second integrationpoint comprises a second URL, the second URL including the hostassociated with the remote network, the path, and the new query string.

In some embodiments, the new query string comprises a key value pairthat is determined based on information within the first descriptions ofthe computing services provided by the remote network.

In some embodiments, the integration point comprises a URL, the URLincluding a host associated with the remote network, a path, and a querystring that contains an offset parameter and a size parameter. In theseembodiments the pagination type comprises an offset pagination thatspecifies a new query string, the new query string containing a secondoffset parameter and the size parameter and the second integration pointcomprises a second URL, the second URL including the host associatedwith the remote network, the path, and the new query string.

In some embodiments, the integration point comprises a URL, the URLincluding a host associated with the remote network, a path, and a querystring that contains a page parameter. In these embodiments thepagination type comprises a page-based pagination that specifies a newquery string, the new query string containing a second page parameter,and the second integration point comprises a second URL, the second URLincluding the host associated with the remote network, the path, and thenew query string.

In some embodiments, the descriptions of the computing services providedby the remote network are received by the computing-service-neutralcloud integration application as a complex data object. In theseembodiments the specification further defines paths within the complexdata object in which particular descriptions of the computing servicesprovided by the remote network are located and storing descriptions ofthe computing services comprises storing descriptions of the computingservices with reference to the paths.

In some embodiments, the complex data object is formatted in accordancewith JSON or XML.

In some embodiments, the specification further defines a test option andthe computing-service-neutral cloud integration application, prior tothe storing, performs further operations including: determining that thetest option is activated and based on the test option being activated,(i) generating one or more graphical user interfaces with elementscorresponding to the first descriptions and the second descriptions, and(ii) providing, to a client device associated with the managed network,the one or more graphical user interfaces.

In some embodiments, the first descriptions of the computing servicescomprise an array of descriptions and requesting and receiving thesecond descriptions of the computing services comprises, for eachrespective description in the array of descriptions, modifying thesecond integration point with a parameter provided in the respectivedescription and requesting and receiving, via the second integrationpoint as modified, a subset of the second descriptions.

In some embodiments, the subset of the second descriptions comprises asecond array of descriptions and the computing-service-neutral cloudintegration application performs further operations including:determining, from the pagination type and the second integration point,a third integration point for the remote network and requesting andreceiving, via the third integration point, third descriptions of thecomputing services provided by the remote network. In these embodiments,requesting and receiving the third descriptions comprises: for eachrespective description in the second array of descriptions, modifyingthe third integration point with a parameter provided in the respectivedescription and requesting and receiving, via the third integrationpoint as modified, a subset of the third descriptions.

VIII. Conclusion

The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particularembodiments described in this application, which are intended asillustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations canbe made without departing from its scope, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuseswithin the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those describedherein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoingdescriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

The above detailed description describes various features and operationsof the disclosed systems, devices, and methods with reference to theaccompanying figures. The example embodiments described herein and inthe figures are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments can beutilized, and other changes can be made, without departing from thescope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readilyunderstood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generallydescribed herein, and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged,substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety ofdifferent configurations.

With respect to any or all of the message flow diagrams, scenarios, andflow charts in the figures and as discussed herein, each step, block,and/or communication can represent a processing of information and/or atransmission of information in accordance with example embodiments.Alternative embodiments are included within the scope of these exampleembodiments. In these alternative embodiments, for example, operationsdescribed as steps, blocks, transmissions, communications, requests,responses, and/or messages can be executed out of order from that shownor discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order,depending on the functionality involved. Further, more or fewer blocksand/or operations can be used with any of the message flow diagrams,scenarios, and flow charts discussed herein, and these message flowdiagrams, scenarios, and flow charts can be combined with one another,in part or in whole.

A step or block that represents a processing of information cancorrespond to circuitry that can be configured to perform the specificlogical functions of a herein-described method or technique.Alternatively or additionally, a step or block that represents aprocessing of information can correspond to a module, a segment, or aportion of program code (including related data). The program code caninclude one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical operations or actions in the method ortechnique. The program code and/or related data can be stored on anytype of computer readable medium such as a storage device including RAM,a disk drive, a solid state drive, or another storage medium.

The computer readable medium can also include non-transitory computerreadable media such as computer readable media that store data for shortperiods of time like register memory and processor cache. The computerreadable media can further include non-transitory computer readablemedia that store program code and/or data for longer periods of time.Thus, the computer readable media may include secondary or persistentlong term storage, like ROM, optical or magnetic disks, solid statedrives, or compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. Thecomputer readable media can also be any other volatile or non-volatilestorage systems. A computer readable medium can be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device.

Moreover, a step or block that represents one or more informationtransmissions can correspond to information transmissions betweensoftware and/or hardware modules in the same physical device. However,other information transmissions can be between software modules and/orhardware modules in different physical devices.

The particular arrangements shown in the figures should not be viewed aslimiting. It should be understood that other embodiments can includemore or less of each element shown in a given figure. Further, some ofthe illustrated elements can be combined or omitted. Yet further, anexample embodiment can include elements that are not illustrated in thefigures.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purpose ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopebeing indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computing system comprising: a computationalinstance including persistent storage configured to store, in databasetables, representations of computing services provided by remotenetworks; and one or more processors disposed within the computationalinstance and configured to cause a cloud integration application toperform operations including: generating a graphical user interface(GUI) having user interface elements that correspond to parameters of aspecification of a remote network, wherein the parameters of thespecification comprise: (i) an integration point of the remote network,(ii) a pagination type associated with responses received from theintegration point, (iii) a set of mappings between descriptions of thecomputing services provided by the remote network that appear in theresponses and fields of the database tables, and (iv) authenticationcredentials to access the remote network; providing the GUI to a clientdevice; receiving the parameters of the specification from the clientdevice via the GUI; requesting and receiving, from the integrationpoint, the descriptions of the computing services provided by the remotenetwork, wherein requesting comprises authenticating with the remotenetwork using the authentication credentials; and storing, in the fieldsof the database tables, the descriptions in accordance with the set ofmappings.
 2. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the one or moreprocessors are configured to cause the cloud integration application toperform operations including: determining, from the pagination type andthe integration point, a second integration point of the remote network.3. The computing system of claim 2, wherein the integration pointcomprises a uniform resource locator (URL) that includes a hostassociated with the remote network and a path, wherein the paginationtype comprises a next endpoint pagination that specifies a new path, andwherein the second integration point comprises a second URL thatincludes the host associated with the remote network and the new path.4. The computing system of claim 2, wherein the integration pointcomprises a URL that includes a host associated with the remote network,a path, and a query string, wherein the pagination type comprises a nextlink pagination that specifies a new query string, wherein the secondintegration point comprises a second URL that includes the hostassociated with the remote network, the path, and the new query string,and wherein the new query string comprises a key value pair that isdetermined based on information within the first descriptions of thecomputing services provided by the remote network.
 5. The computingsystem of claim 2, wherein the integration point comprises a URL thatincludes a host associated with the remote network, a path, and a querystring that contains an offset parameter and a size parameter, whereinthe pagination type comprises an offset pagination that specifies a newquery string that contains a second offset parameter and the sizeparameter, and wherein the second integration point comprises a secondURL that includes the host associated with the remote network, the path,and the new query string.
 6. The computing system of claim 2, whereinthe integration point comprises a URL that includes a host associatedwith the remote network, a path, and a query string that contains a pageparameter, wherein the pagination type comprises a page-based paginationthat specifies a new query string that includes a second page parameter,and wherein the second integration point comprises a second URL thatincludes the host associated with the remote network, the path, and thenew query string.
 7. The computing system of claim 2, wherein the one ormore processors are configured to cause the cloud integrationapplication to perform operations including: requesting and receiving,from the second integration point, second descriptions of the computingservices provided by the remote network; and storing, in the fields ofthe database tables, the second descriptions according to the set ofmappings.
 8. The computing system of claim 7, wherein the firstdescriptions of the computing services comprise an array ofdescriptions, and wherein, to request and receive the seconddescriptions of the computing services, the one or more processors areconfigured to cause the cloud integration application to performoperations including: for each respective description in the array ofdescriptions: modifying the second integration point with a parameterprovided in the respective description; and requesting and receiving,from the second integration point as modified, a subset of the seconddescriptions.
 9. The computing system of claim 8, wherein the subset ofthe second descriptions comprises a second array of descriptions, andwherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the cloudintegration application to perform operations including: determining,from the pagination type and the second integration point, a thirdintegration point of the remote network; requesting and receiving, fromthe third integration point, third descriptions of the computingservices provided by the remote network, wherein requesting andreceiving the third descriptions comprises: for each respectivedescription in the second array of descriptions: modifying the thirdintegration point with an additional parameter provided in therespective description; and requesting and receiving, from the thirdintegration point as modified, an additional subset of the thirddescriptions.
 10. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the userinterface elements of the GUI comprise a test option, and wherein, inresponse to receiving a selection of the test option, the one or moreprocessors are configured to cause the cloud integration application toperform operations including: determining, from the pagination type andthe integration point, a second integration point of the remote network;requesting and receiving, via the second integration point, seconddescriptions of the computing services provided by the remote network;and updating the GUI to present the first descriptions and the seconddescriptions on the client device.
 11. The computing system of claim 1,wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the cloudintegration application to perform operations including: receivingsecond parameters of a second specification from the client device viathe GUI, wherein the second parameters of the second specificationcomprise: (i) a second integration point of a second remote network,(ii) a second pagination type associated with second responses receivedfrom the second integration point, and (iii) a second set of mappingsbetween second descriptions of the computing services provided by thesecond remote network that appear in the second responses and the fieldsof the database tables; and storing the second specification within thepersistent storage.
 12. A computer-implemented method, comprising:generating a graphical user interface (GUI) having user interfaceelements that correspond to parameters of a specification of a remotenetwork, wherein the parameters of the specification comprise: (i) anintegration point of the remote network, (ii) a pagination typeassociated with responses received from the integration point, and (iii)a set of mappings between descriptions of computing services provided bythe remote network that appear in the responses and fields of databasetables within a persistent storage, wherein the database tables areconfigured to store representations of the computing services providedby the remote network; providing the GUI to a client device; receiving,via the GUI, a first integration point, a first pagination type, and afirst set of mappings as the parameters of a first specificationassociated with a first remote network; receiving, via the GUI, a secondintegration point, a second pagination type, and a second set ofmappings as the parameters of a second specification associated with asecond remote network; and storing the specification and the secondspecification within the persistent storage.
 13. The method of claim 12,comprising: retrieving the first integration point, the first paginationtype, and the first set of mappings of the first specification from thepersistent storage; and determining, from the first pagination type andthe first integration point, a third integration point of the firstremote network, wherein the first integration point comprises a uniformresource locator (URL) that includes a first path, or a first querystring, or a combination thereof, wherein the first pagination typespecifies a second path or a second query string, and wherein the thirdintegration point comprises a second URL that includes the second path,or the second query string, or a combination thereof.
 14. The method ofclaim 12, comprising: requesting and receiving, via the firstintegration point, first descriptions of the computing services providedby the first remote network; requesting and receiving, via the secondintegration point, second descriptions of the computing servicesprovided by the second remote network; and storing, in the fields of thedatabase tables, the first descriptions in accordance with the first setof mappings and the second descriptions in accordance with the secondset of mappings.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the parameters ofthe specification comprise (iv) authentication credentials to access theremote network, and wherein the method comprises: authenticating withthe remote network using the authentication credentials; requesting andreceiving, from the integration point, the descriptions of the computingservices provided by the remote network; and storing, in the fields ofthe database tables, the descriptions in accordance with the set ofmappings.
 16. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storinginstructions executable by one or more processors of a computing system,wherein the computing system comprises a persistent storage havingdatabase tables configured to store representations of computingservices provided by remote network, and wherein the instructionscomprise instructions to: generate a graphical user interface (GUI)having user interface elements that correspond to parameters of aspecification of a remote network; provide the GUI to a client device;receive the parameters of the specification from the client device viathe GUI, wherein the parameters of the specification comprise: (i) afirst uniform resource locator (URL) of an integration point of theremote network that includes a first path, a first query string, or acombination thereof, (ii) a pagination type associated with responsesreceived from the integration point, and (iii) a set of mappings betweendescriptions of the computing services provided by the remote networkthat appear in the responses and fields of the database tables, whereinthe pagination type specifies a second path, or a second query string,or a combination thereof; determine, based on the integration point andthe pagination type, a second URL of a second integration point of theremote network, wherein the second URL comprises the second path, or thesecond query string, or a combination thereof; and store thespecification within the persistent storage.
 17. The non-transitory,computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions compriseinstructions to: request and receive, from the first URL, firstdescriptions of the computing services provided by the remote network;determine, based on the first descriptions, a key value pair of thesecond query string; request and receive, from the second URL thatincludes the second query string, second descriptions of the computingservices provided by the remote network; and store, in the fields of thedatabase tables, the first descriptions and the second descriptionsaccording to the set of mappings.
 18. The non-transitory,computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the first query string ofthe first URL comprises a first offset parameter value and a sizeparameter value, and wherein the second query string of the second URLcomprises a second offset parameter value and the size parameter value.19. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 16, whereinthe first query string of the first URL comprises a first page parametervalue, and wherein the second query string of the second URL comprises asecond page parameter value.